The Sapphire Story
by PurpleGastly209
Summary: With the past written and the future decided, all that's left is to make the most of it.


**Chapter 1: Moving Day – Meeting the Neighbors**

The moving van sped down the dirt path, kicking up clouds of dust and sending them into the chilling November air. Its silver exterior was now covered by smears of dirt and dust. A boy hung half his body out of the open window, despite the slight drizzle falling from the gray clouds above. His arms dangled below him and thumped against van door as it rushed over bumps of dirt. The cool rush of air comforted him; it reminded him of home – his real home, not the one that his mother was racing to like a mad woman behind the steering wheel. His old home was his favorite place in the world right now.

They'd left everything behind: friends, family…everything seemed to have been ripped away from him. Now all that was left was a large gash in his life that would never go away. Too bad that's what he wanted - for everything to just go away. Especially his mom. She was always making huge decisions without thinking them through. Nothing she did ever helped them like she thought they did. She thought that moving far enough away from Cianwood City would keep away his father. It was an idiotic idea, and he knew it. Soon enough his dad would figure out that his mom had taken him to a brand new home and then he would come find them. That's exactly what happened when his parents got a divorce.

He hadn't seen his dad in seven years, let alone heard from him. The last he'd seen of him was the day his mother moved them both – excluding his father – from Cherrygrove to Cianwood City. They lived in Cianwood since 2001 and it took his father almost eight years to find out where him and his mother were. He told his mother about how he'd noticed a man following him home from school and she ended up freaking out and racing around to get things ready to move.

The memories brought tears to his eyes. Not wanting his mother to know that he was crying, he held back the waterworks and quietly sniffled. Too bad his mom [I]had[/I] heard.

"Cole, are you crying?" her voice was the same angelic one that she used to comfort him when she believed he was thinking of his father.

"No, I'm fine," he lied. He quickly sniffled again. This time it was louder and seemed to last longer.

"Sweetie…Cole, I'm sorry. I know that it was hard starting over before, but we won't have to now. Your fa-…" she despised Cole's father and her former husband. Even after seven years it was still a struggle for her to say his name – even to just say [I]father[/I], which obviously wasn't Cole's dad's name.

"What about Dad?" Cole shouted. He hated yelling at his mother – especially when she tried helping him. But he thought that she deserved no comfort when she dragged him into another region. Hoenn…

Cole thought the name was stupid. It sounded like the end to a hoe. Hoe's End – Hoenn. Though it was the perfect place for his mother. This was the end to all the running and extra-overprotection in her mind. It was ridiculous.

The car slowed to an average speed. Cole saw no speed limit signs, though he guessed that they were on a regular road now. The dirt stopped spewing from beneath the tires, so that backed up the theory. They were getting close. Sounds of children playing outside echoed in the distance. That meant that his new home was only moments away. He let out a distressed sigh, not thinking about his mother hearing that time.

"We are only ten minutes away now, Cole. Could you please put your head into the car? I don't want anyone thinking that we're two nut jobs who just got out of the joint."

[I]Too late,[/I] Cole thought. He listened, though, and pulled the rest of his body into the moving van silently. Half of his body was covered in tiny, pepper-patterned dots from the drizzle outside. Droplets of water resided on the top of his ember hair. He sat and waited for the beginning of the rest of his life to begin.

The last ten minutes of his free life ended with an abrupt stop and his mother's horrible singing.

"We're here!" she cheered, trying to lighten the mood. They both unbuckled their seatbelts without saying another word and stepped out of the car.

The air felt colder. Cole shivered. He looked at the sky – a large, black cloud now advanced towards them from the north. The stopped, but that only meant that even more was soon to come; a storm was on its way. With the silenced engine of the van, everything was serene, peaceful. Only a few houses were visible. All of them looked the same – tan siding, one large wooden door, and a brown roof. How could anyone like this town?

"Oh this town is simply b-e-a-utiful!" cried his mother.

[I]Figures.[/I]

Cole sighed and slumped inside. Despite his anger, he was looking forward to seeing what the new house looked like on the inside. His heavy footsteps were soon joined by soft quick pattering ones. Behind him, his mother carried two brown suitcases.

"Cole! Cole, slow down!" shouted his mother. Her frail figure bustled towards him, both suitcases waving through the air. "Here are your things. Take them upstairs – your room is the first door on the left, and the bathroom is the next door down the hall – in case you have to use it, that is."

Cole took the suitcases from her and continued towards the house. Once he made it to the door, it opened. On the other side, a tan man stood with his arms folded across his chest. His faded hair was cropped short on his head. The unappealing color matched his thick mustache right above his upper lip. Cole looked into his eyes – they looked brown through the frustration Cole sensed from him. The wrinkles on his forehead backed up the emotions.

"You say ten o'clock and you arrive forty minutes late. We've already finished moving everything and-" before the angry man – who Cole assumed to be the head of the moving company – could continue, Cole shrugged around him. "Where are you going?!" shouted the man.

"I'm not the person you're looking for," Cole answered. "The deranged woman is outside."

Without checking the man's expression at his remark, Cole quickened his stride across the paneled flooring. Three burly, gray Pokémon bustled around the open room. The entire lower floor was composed of the living room and kitchen, aside for a separate enclosed room, which Cole assumed to be a bathroom. There were no walls or anything else to separate the kitchen and living room - the only notification was the change in flooring from paneled wood to black-and-white checkerboard tiling. The kitchen (which was only a small space in the corner of the room) did not look too inviting. Cole noticed a few appliances crammed in with the ivory-colored counters. A large stainless steel refrigerator was being cleaned by one of the overly muscular Pokémon. It could easily crush the fridge if it pushed on it a little harder; a pretty good Pokémon to have handy. Cole decided to just look up information about it later, after he was used to his new room.

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"Zig! Zigzagoon!"

Outside the arising drama at Littleroot Town, a tiny raccoon Pokémon darted around the overgrown underbrush. Its brown and white zigzag pattern stood out against the mossy colored shrubs. They rustled as the Pokémon attempted to escape an attacking trainer. Another red and white Pokéball hurtled through the air towards it. The Zigzagoon agilely leapt into the air to avoid the oncoming Pokéball.

"Dammit!" the trainer shouted.

The word sounded oddly vulgar against the teenage girl's soft-set voice. Her bright pink fingernails curled against her palms in frustration.

[I]That was my fourth time trying to catch that Zigzagoon! This is too hard. I guess I'll wait and try again tomorrow…it should be easier once Professor Birch finally gives me my starter.[/I]

She slouched her shoulders as she walked into the overgrown grass to pick up her Pokéball and watched as her target made its getaway. Once the Pokéball was back into her hands, she brushed dirt off of her denim jean capris and pink T-shirt from chasing after the speedy Zigzagoon. Her T-shirt had a large Pokéball design in the center with the letters 'PPU' overtop of it to represent Pokémon Professor University, the college she planned to attend once she traveled different regions and studied every kind of Pokémon there is.

Her walk home didn't take long. Littleroot Town was only a short distance south of where she was. The darkening clouds in the sky started letting some rain fall to the ground before they released the full-fledged storm on the town. Her hometown made everything in the world seem at peace. With Route 101 being the only connecting route, not many travelers made their way into the town. Plus, Littleroot was far south of any major city in Hoenn, so no one really took the time to see what was there. She didn't feel bad for anyone; to be honest, she was glad that people left the town alone. When too many people traveled through certain routes, it interfered with the wild Pokémon habitats – that was her opinion anyway. Not many different Pokémon were on Route 101, after all. With Zigzagoon and Poochyena populating the area and an occasional Wurmple making an appearance, not many other species of Pokémon could be found.

When she walked through the clearing and into Littleroot Town she noticed something – a BIG something. Across the street from her house was a gray moving van with dark red rust in large quantities across its storage compartment. She darted past the "Welcome to Littleroot Town" sign towards her house. All in the same second, a firm hand wrapped around her slender arm, abruptly halting her to a stop. She looked in the direction the hand came from and noticed a guy around her age and height with golden hair.

"Whoa there," he began, "where is pretty little Kira headed?"

She pulled her arm free and made a disgusted grunting sound in the back of her throat.

"Ugh…Dominik, how many times do I have to say 'LEAVE ME THE F*CK ALONE'!"

His constant attempts to flirt with her made Kira want to push him down a bottomless well. His clothes didn't help at all either; purple, skin-tight skater pants and black T-shirts with numerous rock bands advertised on them didn't exactly turn her on in any way. He was also always bullying kids in the small neighborhood.

"C'mon baby, you know you wanna just let go and go all out with me."

Dominik curled up the sides of his mouth in a devious smile.

"Ew, Dominik, you're such a f*gg-"

Before Kira could finish, she heard something coming from the area where the moving van had been.

"You show up forty-five minutes late and expect my crew to [I]not[/I] involve a judge?! Lady, you are crazy!" a deep, gruff voice shouted.

"What the eff…" Dominik's voice trailed off in confusion.

[I]I wonder what that's all about?[/I] Kira thought.

"Kira! Kira!"

Kira and Dominik each slowly adverted their gazes from the two shouting people and saw Kira's mother frantically waving her arms from a side window to their house. She brushed her untidy chocolate-brown hair away from her face. Kira noticed that her mother's forehead was bright red.

[I]Wonder what that's from…[/I]

Then Kira smelled an inviting scent linger through the air and into her nose.

[I]Is she baking?[/I]

Her mother hadn't baked in a long time – since Kira's eleventh birthday three years ago. That's what it came down to after so many years. Her mother only baked on very special occasions. When Kira had once asked why she rarely baked, her mother broke down in tears. Kira guessed that it had something to do with her dad. Ever since he disappeared, her mother bawled over every little thing that reminded her of him.

"What is it, mom?" Kira called back.

"Honey, come inside. I don't want you to get wet from the storm!" she answered.

Ironically, a chilling breeze swept through the small clearing where Kira stood with Dominik. Large clouds only about a mile away already unleashed a downpour on the distant scenery. Without any hesitation, she sprinted for the front door of her house. She was lucky that her house was only a three-minute walk from the town's entrance, and it only took a minute and a half when she ran.

When Kira walked through the front door, a wave of heat rushed over her. She could no longer feel the small amount of water on her shirt – she assumed that it evaporated once she was inside – but she could feel tiny beads of sweat accumulating on her forehead. She wiped them away with the length of her arm and looked around for her mother.

The inside of their home was larger than most of the other houses – it used to be the same size, but after renovations had been done it was large enough to house a whole other family. The dark-set nylon carpet replaced the common wood paneled floors in the other houses and a half wall was built around the kitchen when it had been expanded. The house didn't even look the same as the others on the inside once you thought about it. The carpet instead of wood and larger kitchen with brand new tiles, updated furniture – the oak table that sat next to one of the kitchen's walls showed for that – and even the creamy peach walls changed the aspect of the room.

"Oh good, you're back," said Kira's mother as she latched the window she called through shut. She turned around and quickly strode into the spacious kitchen.

"Are you actually baking?" Kira questioned.

Surprisingly, it didn't take her mom more than a second to answer.

"Yes, I am, and it's for you. I want you to have a wonderful meal before you leave to go on your journey," she replied.

Though her mother's back faced her, Kira knew she was crying – or about to, at least. A few sniffles filled the empty space while Kira stood by the front door, watching her mom put on two bright green oven mitts and pull out two medium sized potpies. The aroma of the food intensified. Kira's stomach knew how she felt – once the two potpies were on the counter, it let out a low rumble.

"Are you just going to stand there or would you like to eat a nice home-cooked meal?" Her mom carefully lifted one of the potpies out of its clear pan and set it on a fancy dinner plate.

"I think I'll go get changed before we eat. These clothes are uncomfortable now that it's ninety degrees in here." Kira's mom just nodded to let her know that she would wait.

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Upstairs was reasonably cooler. Kira sat on her bed, her pink backpack on her lap, as she went through it, making sure that everything was in check.

[I]Antidotes…check. Pokéballs…check. Potions…check. I hope I have everything. If not, I'm pretty sure that I can find a PokéMart when I need anything...[/I]

Kira quickly shuffled through her bag once more, checking things off her mental list as she went along. The second check took a few minutes longer than she expected.

"Kira, are you coming? Your potpie is getting cold!" her mother's impatient call made its way up the staircase and into Kira's bedroom. As she heard her mother's words she frantically tossed her bag onto her bed and raced through her closet, flipping between multiple outfits.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" she called back, "I'll be right there!"

She hurriedly grabbed another PPU shirt – this one had a faded maroon tint to it – and a pair of sweatpants. Once she was finally dressed, Kira glanced at the clock; 11:38. She couldn't believe it – in only twenty-two minutes the Pokémon Laboratory down the street would be open and she could begin her Pokémon Journey.

[I]I'm gonna be a Pokémon Trainer! Just twenty-two minutes, twenty-two minutes! I'm gonna be a Pokémon Trainer![/I] she sang inside her head. [I]This is too exciting. A Pokémon Trainer…wow.[/I]

She thought about that. She had never been classified as anything. She had always just been plain old Kira. In only twenty minutes she would be Kira, the Pokémon Trainer.

[I]I wonder if the new kid is a Pokémon Trainer yet…maybe we can travel together if he is! I hope he's cute. Then he could be my mentor! Oh, Dominik would be so jealous![/I]

While thinking, Kira quickly glanced out her window to see if the new neighbors were finished moving in. She couldn't find the moving van, which made her a bit shocked.

[I]The movers are gone already?[/I] she thought.

She looked at each detail about the house. Among the few houses in the town, this one had a slightly better foundation – nice and flat. Some of the others had uneven land, or didn't have much of a yard. Kira lived in Littleroot for so long that she could easily pick out small differences between the houses. She was proud of herself for that.

While her attention was caught on rainwater dripping out of the gutters, she noticed something out of her peripheral vision move. Just a slight movement from behind a curtain. Without thinking, her eyes darted to where to movement came from and then just as quickly looked away.

There he was. The new kid. She didn't get much of a good look at him through the water-stained window and considering the fact that she only looked at him for about half a second.

But soon she would get a better look at him.

Soon, he would know who she was.

And soon, she would have a partner for her Pokémon journey.

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His new room was bigger than his old one, and much more spacious as well. A red cotton rug with an embroidered white frame covered almost half of his wooden flooring which, to much of Cole's displeasure, matched the flooring in the rest of the house. Cole walked over to it and placed both suitcases onto it. The room didn't have much of anything in it. Two windows let in whatever light that shone threw the stormy clouds. Both windows were only about a foot apart and each had a set of plastery white curtains in front of them.

Mechanically, Cole slumped to one of the windows, spread the curtains apart, and looked around his new hometown. It made him sick. Why the h*ll would someone make a town where every single house looked the same!? All it did was successfully make the town plain and boring. Although one house did stand out in his search through the neighboring houses.

The house – well, at least he thought it was a house – was only across a small dirt road near the front of his house. It was definitely larger than his own house, and looked nicer, too. The tan siding wasn't old and falling apart; it instead had a brighter tint and sort of a glossy look to it. All of the windows of the second story looked liked they'd just been closed; the blinds were up and messy curtains draped along the sides of them. The last window he looked at had bright neon pink curtains behind it. It obviously peered into a girl's room – when he focused past the curtains he saw that the window set right in front of a double bed with a Roselia pattern comforter.

He watched a little while longer as a girl about his age walked into the room and sat on the bed. She held a backpack on her lap as she pulled different sorts of items in and out. He stared, having nothing better to do, while she went through it a few times. After the third time of going through it, the girl fluttered around the room. She vanished, but only for a second, returning with an entirely new outfit. Then, without any warning, she faced out her window. Her eyes roamed the town like Cole's had not long ago. They soon met his, but only for a millisecond before she spun around and out of view.

[I]Pffft, I can't even get a neighbor to look at me without running away,[/I] Cole thought. He trudged over to his new bed, laying down on the top blanket. Cole reached into his pocket and dug around for his iPod. Once he felt the rectangular device, he pulled it out and placed one earphone in each ear. It was only a matter of time before he was gently singing the lyrics to the song…

"I hear Jerusalem Bells are ringing, Roman Calvary choirs are singing. Be my mirror, my sword and shield, my missionaries in a foreign field…."

He trailed off, staring at the ceiling, singing to the rest of the song…

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Going through her bag once again, Kira now sat on the floor. She didn't want to take chances of the boy staring at her through the window again. As she pulled out a purple spray bottle of medicine for Pokémon, there was a knock at her door. Without waiting for a reply, her mother opened the door and walked to the bed to sit with Kira.

"I put your potpie in the refrigerator," she told Kira.

At this, Kira's eyes widened.

"AWW, MOM, I'M SO SORRY! IT'S JUST THA-" but she was cut off.

"I understand; can't say I didn't do the same thing when I was younger. I became so excited about starting a Pokémon journey that nothing else in the world mattered. Looks like us girls are even more related than you'd think." Kira stared at her mother like she was a perfect gift sent from God - a wonderful and compassionate woman that cared for anyone and anything. She felt bad about her father disappearing – her mother didn't deserve that kind of pain.

"Thanks, Mom," whispered Kira. She embraced her mom with a tight hug and some crying from each of them.

"I am going to miss you, honey," her mom said once they let go of one another, "and I'll think about you every single day."

"I'll miss you too," Kira replied. "Um, this is kinda a weird question, but…I was wondering if you noticed the moving van across the street?"

Kira's mother stared blankly at her in response to the off-topic question.

"I saw a moving van across the street and some lady was yelling at one of the moving people. Then I saw some kid who looked about my age through my window." Kira's mother was still staring blankly at her.

"Hello? Mom, are you in there?" Kira tried tapping on her mother's head, but she moved away when Kira's finger inched its way closer.

"No, I didn't notice," she replied. "You said there were only two of them?"

"Yes, from what I saw," Kira answered, "I don't think I noticed another person."

"How about you take the potpies over to them? I'm pretty sure that they're exhausted from moving."

"But Mom, you hardly ever bake and I really wanted to eat them with-"

"Don't worry about it. Just take them over and I'll make some more. It'll be good to make a nice impression to the neighbors before they would think of anything bad. Plus, I want you to meet that boy – you need someone your age besides that Dominik kid." Her mother trailed off in thought as she left the room and headed downstairs, probably to wrap up the potpies.

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Kira hopped down the stairs, gently singing the lines to a song.

"The next time we hang out, I will redeem myself. My heart can't rest 'til then. Ooh, whoa, whoa I, I can't wait… to see you again."

The song by Miley Cyrus rang inside her head ever since that morning. She couldn't stand her voice and how annoying her songs were, but her insides of her head obviously didn't want to forget what she was singing.

"I thought you hated that Rosanna Montana person?" her mom asked, holding two white dishes with the tops covered with aluminum foil.

"It's [I]Hannah[/I] Montana, Mom," Kira corrected, "Plus, I think she prefers being called by her real name now."

"Oh God, I don't even remember her real name anymore. After the months of "HANNAH MONTANA IN A CONCERT NEAR YOU" ads and commercials, I can't even remember her real name," her mother sighed.

"It's Miley," Kira told her mother the girl's name once again, "Miley Cyrus."

"Cyrus….the name sounds familiar for some reason…" her mother trailed off, lost in thought. "Oh well..." She eventually added.

"Maybe from Billy Ray Cyrus?" Kira suggested.

"No, no, not her dad," her mom gave her a strange look, "I think it was something in the news about a crazy man in Sinnoh…"

"I dunno…" Kira shrugged and gave her mom an 'I-don't-really-care-right-now-just-let-me-leave' look.

"Well anyway," her mom said, snapping into reality for another time that day, "Here are the potpies for the new neighbors. Tell then to heat them in the oven at 375°F for thirty to thirty-five minutes. And tell them not to worry about the plate, we've got plenty."

She handed her the potpies and stood staring at her daughter.

"Okay, Mom."

"Have fun, and please try to be friendly. I really do want you to become friends with this boy."

"Me too."

Her mom gently placed her hands on each side of Kira's face and kissed her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, "just go have fun."

"Okay, whatever you say…bye."

And with that Kira stepped into the misty afternoon and began walking the short distance from her house. The sky stopped drizzling – for now – and the town was shrouded in mist. The white blanket in front of her only allowed a minimum of five feet of sight in front of her, concealing the forest surrounding the town behind it.

Her walk didn't take long, and she let her mind wander to keep from thinking of the boy at the window. Once she was at the wooden door she felt her heart thumping madly in her chest. She tried to lift her hand, but it felt too heavy. Why was she so nervous? All she had to do was hand them the potpies and tell them how long to heat them up. Easy, right?

But she still felt like a Rattata trapped in a circle of hunting Arbok. What would she say exactly? Would they take the potpies? Who would answer the door? Would it be him?

[I]Ugh,[/I] she though, [I]this is pointless. I'm just having pre-neighbor-meeting nerves. Right?[/I]

She took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door three times. The quietness of her knock surprised her. She didn't hear the usual quickening steps of feet rushing to get the door, so she knocked again, this time louder – A LOT louder. The knocking sounded like a giant's thundering footsteps. A startled yelp came from inside and a woman in her late thirties, early forties, appeared at the door. Her artificially tanned face had a mix of confusion and annoyance creasing the skin on her forehead.

"Hello," the woman said, "Are you okay, is something wrong?"

Kira was at a loss for words. At first she didn't know what the woman had asked, but once she realized that she was waiting for an answer, Kira choked out a simple "Uhhhh."

"Okay….may I ask who you are?"

"Er- I- I'm…I'm Kira," Kira spit out hurriedly, "I live across the street. I saw you guys moving in today, and my mom made you these potpies."

Kira didn't think they needed to know that the potpies were originally made for herself and her mom.

The woman in the doorway looked down at the items in Kira's hands before responding.

"Oh. Oh okay, thank you very much." she said kindly, "Please, come in."

Kira handed her the food and followed her inside.

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Why did Littleroot have to be so damn peaceful? There wasn't much of anything that Cole could hate about his new home.

Once he finished listening to a few more songs, he left his house to get some fresh air. The wetness of the light drizzle didn't bother him much, but he was starting to get annoyed by it constantly tapping against his head every second. It was like, Chinese water torture or something.

Cole soon found himself near the town's entrance. It wasn't that fancy – a wall of trees leading into the connecting route, some overgrown grass and other shrubs, and a wooden sign that read "WELCOME TO LITTLEROOT – [I]A Town That Can't Be Shaded Any Hue.[/I]

A guy with dark golden hair stood leaning against the sign, drinking from what looked like a soda can. Once the guy finished his drink, he crushed the can with his hand and dropped it onto the wet ground.

Cole just kept on walking towards the outskirts of town. Surprisingly, the guy darted in front of him to stop Cole in his place.

"Whoa, who're you?" the guy asked. "I never gave you permission to leave town on my watch."

His breath reeked a putrid smell of onions and pepperoni.

"What?" Cole asked, bewildered by the statement, and partially disgusted by bad breath.

"I said: 'Why are you trying to leave town?' Would you like me to say it again?"

"No thanks, I don't think I could survive another blast of your skunk breath."

The guy's face altered from peachy cream to bright red. His nostrils flared and the skin on his forehead creased. Cole almost expected him to punch him right there and then; instead, he tried to calm down.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked.

"I'm Cole. Cole Mascheriet. Me and my deranged mom just moved in today," replied Cole.

"Oh, so you're the people Kira was so excited about." The guy gave a disgruntled huff.

"Who's Kira?"

"None of your damn business," he almost yelled, "She's mine, so don't even bother with her."

"Hey, if she's your girlfriend, I wont try to interfere," said Cole, backing away with his hands up.

"Yeah, you better."

And then he was back by the sign, opening another can of soda. Cole didn't want to try to finish his walk; what was the point now. The golden haired guy now ruined any slight glimmer of desire to travel.

[I]I'll just go home…[/I] he thought.

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The walk home felt like it took about three seconds. One second he was turning away from the gold-haired guy and the next he was in front of the door to his house.

"Oh I'm so glad that you stopped by!" Cold heard his mother shout from inside.

Was someone visiting them?

"I know that you and Cole will be great friends. He really needs it – I think he's depressed or something. You know, he used to be so happy, but lately he's been having trouble being in a good mood."

Cole abruptly opened the door a trampled upstairs to his room.

"Cole you're home! Do you want to meet-" but his mother stopped short when she realized that he was ignoring her.

Upstairs, Cole heard more random chattering from his mother to the unknown person in their kitchen. He didn't exactly hear what she was saying, but he could tell that the other person wasn't saying anything.

And then it was quiet. Dead silent. He couldn't even hear his mother talking. It was almost eerie. Like when you're in a crowded place and something happens that makes everybody hush. The silence that makes everyone flinch at the slightest sound.

Closing his eyes, Cole focused all his attention downstairs. His breathing slowed, becoming deep and slow. In his head, he thought of the first floor of his house; he imagined the living room and kitchen mixed together and his mother briskly chattering away to some mystery human being sitting on a wooden table chair. Slowly, he thought he heard hushed whispers. They seemed to be voices of plotting. After a minute it was silent again.

"COLE, COME DOWN HERE! ON TV…..IT'S..IT'S YOUR FATHER!" his mother bellowed.

The outburst of noise startled Cole so much that he jumped a few feet backward away form his door. His breathing sped up with his blood pumping furiously. After nearly having a heart attack, he made his way downstairs. He started slow, but rushed like mad down the steps, taking two at a time. His body was moving faster than his mind could muster any idea what was going on.

His father? On TV? Why would he be on television? After almost seven years of his crazed mother cutting off all contact between them and his father, she wanted Cole to see him on television? None of it made sense, but Cole ran into the living room.

It seemed as if the world was being jumbled around all at once. Even the sight in his living room confused him. His mother stood in front of their TV, fumbling with the remote. When she noticed him her hands juggled with the remote even more. As Cole rushed to the TV, he heard it come on with a tiny "click" from the remote.

On screen were two men, one who was easily distinguishable as a reporter and the other looked like a fat hobo; his messy hair and rotten teeth were more of his "better" features – he wore a yellowed wife beater under a red shirt (which by the man's size, looked a size too small) covered in random stains from various foods. The volume was at a decent level, briskly filling the room.

"Here we are with Fred Balton, who has the record for the world longest and loudest fart," informed the reporter on TV.

Cole turned towards his mother.

"Is this a joke?" he asked, almost yelling at her.

"Cole, sweetie," cooed his mother.

"STOP FRICKIN CALLING ME THAT!" screamed Cole.

"Honey…Cole…I only wanted you to meet someone. She's our new neighbor."

Cole had forgotten about their visitor. He turned his head in the direction of the kitchen.

"Well actually, you guys are [I]our[/I] new neighbors." the girl corrected. Her voice was clear and beautiful. She stood up and walked towards them.

She had long, silky brown hair that almost reached her butt and also had bangs that came right to the top of her eyes before stopping and swaying when she walked. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the tense mood that filled the air.

When her eyes me Cole's, she studied him for barely a second and then looked away. Cole hadn't realized it until now, but she was the girl from the window earlier. He recognized her from the way she looked at him so quickly before finding something else to stare at.

She reached them and lifted a slender hand in the air. Cole met her hand with his and they both shook the other's.

"I'm Kira. Kira Harte. My mom and I live across the street," said Kira, looking into Cole's eyes again.

"It's great to meet you. I'm Cole Mascheriet," he answered. His voice shook a little, but his mom obviously didn't notice. She kept on grinning at the sight before her eyes and nodding her head like a chicken.

Kira smiled, and her cheeks flush a bright red, brighter than a fire truck.

[I]I can't believe that it's him, the guy from the window…[/I] Kira thought.

This was better than what she'd expected. She could tell that there was something about her that he liked. It wasn't hard to figure out – Cole still shook her hand and stared into her eyes. She stopped moving her outstretched hand and looked at him questioningly.

When he didn't respond to her hinting, she made it obvious that he was zoned out.

"Umm….can I have my hand back?" she asked.

Now it was Cole's turn to become brighter than a fire truck. He released her hand and slid his next to his body.

"Sorry," he said, still blushing.

He looked away again, trying to find a topic to relieve the awkwardness. He looked at his mother, who looked like she was about to burst.

And then she did.

But to Cole's displeasure, not literally.

"WILL YOU GO WITH KIRA TO OLDALE TOWN!?" she exploded with excitement.

"What?" Cole asked, dumbfounded by her enthusiasm.

"Maybe you should explain, Kira, dear." His mother turned to her for support.

"Its fine, Mrs. Mascheriet-"

"Call me Gwen, please." Cole's mom interrupted.

"Okay...Gwen, well I wanted to know if you would travel with me up to Oldale Town to look for Professor Birch – he's the Professor of Hoenn. He was going to meet someone – I think it was another professor from a different region – and he hasn't come back yet." Kira informed him.

"I'm sure he will be back tomorrow. A trip to meet someone would probably take more than a day," said Cole, trying not to sound rude.

"Well…it's been eight days. And I was supposed to get my first Pokémon weeks ago. I'm not too worried about Professor Birch – he's probably just studying more kinds of Pokémon. But I really want a Pokémon, and my mom wont let me travel alone to Oldale."

"Oh." Cole said. That was all he could muster after Kira's speech.

"Soooo….do you wanna come along?" she asked once more.

"Uhh…I guess so," said Cole. "Sure."

"EEEEEEHEHEHEHE!" Gwen's shrill giggle could've shattered every window in their new house.

"Alrighty then," said Cole, trying to move around the annoying sound that just came out of his mother's throat, "When do we leave?"

"Right now!" screeched Kira. Cole could tolerate her joyfulness. Although he wasn't quite thinking straight when he first heard her reply.

"NOW??" he boomed, once he realized what Kira had said.

"You bet!" Kira gleamed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the house. "It shouldn't take long at all. This is gonna be AWESOME!"

Cole was lost in a daydream of him and Kira running through fields of flowers finding the professor once their hands had met.

"Okay…" he cooed.

"Take your time!" he heard his mother shouting in the distance.

In front of his mother, he tried to act like he didn't want to go, but secretly, he wanted to scream out and dance around like a kid in a candy store.

END OF CHAPTER ONE


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